Cigarettes Seized in Market Place Raid

Almost 80,000 illegal cigarettes have been seized from a Dudley market stall. The raid, which took place earlier this month, was carried out by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), Dudley’s trading standards and NHS Dudley and also saw further investigations of a van and a private address. A total of 78,940 cigarettes were taken from the stall. No duty had been paid on any of them, leading to around £18,000 being evaded. Trading standards officials also confiscated a large amount of counterfeit clothing. Councillor David Stanley, cabinet member for environment and culture, said: "The people who sell these goods are not helping our community or honest local traders and we will not hesitate to act upon information we have received. “Dudley welcomes reputable traders, but we also have a duty to protect shoppers and other, law abiding stall holders which is why we make regular checks with our trading standards officers. “This is why cases like this are extremely rare, and sends out a clear message that we work very hard to keep our town centre safe and crime free.